Hamas has announced the names of the next hostages scheduled for release on Saturday in the Gaza Strip as part of an ongoing exchange deal with Israel.
The three male civilians set to be freed are Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami, and Or Levy.
Since the ceasefire began on January 19, Hamas has released 18 hostages, while Israel has freed 383 Palestinian prisoners in return. According to Hamas, an additional 183 hostages are expected to be released on Saturday.
By the end of the first phase of the ceasefire, which is set to conclude in three weeks, a total of 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners are expected to be freed. However, Israeli officials have stated that eight of those 33 hostages are deceased.
Hamas originally seized 251 hostages and killed approximately 1,200 people during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, an assault that sparked the ongoing war.
At least 47,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. About two-thirds of Gaza's buildings have been damaged or destroyed by Israel's attacks, the UN says.
Eli Sharabi, 52, was taken from Kibbutz Beeri with his brother, Yossi, whose death has since been confirmed. Eli's British-born wife, Lianne, and two daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were murdered in the attack.
Mr Sharabi's brother-in-law, Stephen Brisley, from Wales, said his safe return "has always been that one crumb of comfort".
"Eli coming home alive would be perhaps the greatest memorial to Lianne and the girls and we're so close to achieving that now," he told the BBC.
Ohad Ben Ami, 56, was also taken from Kibbutz Beeri, along with his wife, Raz. She was later released by Hamas.
Mr Ben Ami, an accountant, is "known for his good judgment and sense of humour", according to the Hostages Families Forum.
Or Levy, 34, a computer programmer from Rishon LeZion, a city south of Tel Aviv, fled the Nova festival with his wife Eynav, when gunmen attacked the event.
Mr Levy was taken hostage and Eynav's body was found in a bomb shelter where the couple had been hiding.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed authorities had received the list of abductees scheduled for release on Saturday, and their families had been informed.
Earlier on Friday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters had welcomed "news about the expected release" of the three hostages.
"We will not give up or stop at any stage until all hostages return home under the current agreement - down to the very last one - the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial," the statement said.
Hours before they released the hostage names, Hamas accused Israel of failing to abide by its commitment to boost the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal.
The head of Hamas's media office in Gaza, Salama Marouf, told a news conference in Gaza City: "The humanitarian situation remains catastrophic due to Israeli obstruction".
Source: BBC
BDST: 1045 HRS, FEB 08, 2025
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